Over the weekend, I posted reasons why McPalin were indeed not "just like us." I wanted to share what the people who are like me are feeling and experiencing. Our situations have no color. However, earlier today I read a diary about the underlying racism that permeates white America. This underlying racism allows white people not to "trust" Senator Obama without logical reasons.
The author pointed out that no matter what Obama/Biden or Democrats say, white people can’t get over their own racism to vote for a black person. Not that this facet hasn’t been there all along, but being what I thought was a rational person, who could both recognize and overcome my own shortcomings, I felt that my self-interest and my belief in the American people and American dream would triumph.
Comments such as "I ain’t voting for no n##gg@!" or "I don’t TRUST him!" are all racist codes. However, what I truly believe is that white Americans are very afraid that black Americans want to somehow punish them for slavery, Jim Crow, separate and unequal, discrimination, etc. The fear is real because somewhere within us we know that if the shoe was on the other foot, then white Americans would want revenge against black Americans for treating us so deplorably. So, it’s not really about fearing black people. White people fear they will get what they think should be coming to them. Now, I know that the sentence seems convoluted, and I’ll admit it is. However, the whole rationality is convoluted. It’s basic psychology. People project onto others what they really feel about themselves. So, it’s not really an accurate statement to say, "I don’t trust him." It’s accurate to say, "I don’t trust this black man because I know if I was a slave or faced discrimination everyday, I would not say ‘can’t we all just get along.’ I would say ‘payback is a b!+@h." So there, now I’ve said it. I’ve let the cat out of the bag. Whew...I had to take a deep breath.
So getting back to "just like us..."
If I can’t overcome my fear of retaliation from black people and vote for my pocketbook, then I am quite simply a fool. And the old adage about a fool and his money soon parted would be quite apt to describe me and others who thought like this. Numerous studies since the Civil Rights Movement about voting patterns show that poor and working class whites who are no better off financially, socially, etc. than blacks will always vote against their economic self interest when race is added to the equation. I so want to prove the scholars wrong.
My paycheck is barely making it month to month, and I’m educated with a good job. However, God forbid if my car breaks down or my little one is hospitalized for her chronic asthma. I only have so much sick and annual leave, and although entitled to FMLA, I can’t afford to be off without pay. I’m also worried about my job. My company depends on funding from the State to provide public health services. The budget crisis in California has me worried.
I’ve talked to friends and colleagues in their 30’s and 40’s, white, black, Asian, and Latino, and we are all in the same boat. We are all worried about the cost of food, gas, childcare, and the basic necessities. We have all trimmed the fat from our budgets the last couple of years. We thought we were middle class, but a few are in foreclosure proceedings. The rest are worried about making the mortgage or rent. These people are not "subprime" borrowers. What I’m saying is that I DON’T CARE THAT SENATOR OBAMA IS BLACK! If this is the hand that is going to help me to feed my family and keep a roof over our heads, then I’ll gladly take it.
We know what the Republicans accomplished under Reagan and Bush I and II. I was there and I lived it. Given the state of the economy, and the direction it has gone in the past four years, I am afraid. Very Afraid. Shoot, if the Obama’s could pull themselves up from no bootstraps, I am curious to know what they could do for America. If you’ve never been hungry you don’t appreciate a good meal. If you’ve never been cold, you don’t appreciate a good winter coat. If you’ve never been without, you are divorced from reality and therefore can’t appreciate the common man and woman. So again, I say that McPalin is not "just like us." I don’t care about "white power" or "black power." I care about keeping the power on in my house.